


Time Lost(old)

by orphan_account



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Drinking, F/M, Genocide Mentions, Nazi Germany, Nazis, PTSD, Period-Typical Sexism, Temporary Character Death, Trauma, snow fights
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-07-08 01:00:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19860955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: An accident during a mission sends Shield agent Victoria Taylor back in in time to the second world war. There she enlists the help of Peggy Carter, Steve Rogers, and Bucky Barnes to find the object that can send her back.Note: this is currently being rewritten into an Xreader fic. My apologies if thats disappointing to any of you, but its really what I prefer to writeThis work had been abandoned for the rewrite. It will remain up for archive purposes.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first go at a series in a long time, dunno how regularly it will be updated but im trying. It will end up being very canon divergent in later chapters most likely ignoring civil war onwards.

Tori adjusted her dress slightly as she watched the party from her perch atop a high bar stool. Who would have thought that experimental arms dealers liked 40’s themed parties? Apparently other arms dealers by the looks of it. “This place is a real who's who of people you don't want to fuck with, isn't it?” She stated more than asked as she stirred her drink with a mixing straw.

“Yeah, unless you’re us.” Clint's voice said through the communication device in her ear.

She chuckled, taking a sip of her drink. “Unless you're us. How is setting up that distraction going?” She peeked down the hall where two guards stood watch over the entrance to another corridor. “Macho Man and Biceps Mcgee don’t look apt to let me through.”

“Patience Tay-tay, patience.” She rolled her eyes as he continued. “The Blues Brothers should be off your back in a few minutes.”

“Stop calling me that. I didn't need to help you with this mission, remember?” She said, leaning against the bar. This was not how she intended to spend her day off. “Why did I agree to this again?”

“Because I’m your best friend and you love me?” He offered as the lights flickered. Tori looked down the hall again to see the two guards moving to investigate. Bingo.

“Oh, right.” She said as she slid off the stool. “You wouldn't stop begging me until I caved.” Head held high, she walked into the hallway as if she owned the place. “You owe me an introduction to Captain America when this is done.”

“You know, I wouldn't need to introduce the two of you if you just joined the avengers.” He said as she turned down the now unguarded corridor. “The door you're looking for should be on your left.”

“I don't like the limelight.” She defended, “Remember the entire reason why your asking me to do this is because you can't walk into a room without being recognized anymore. Not after what happened in New York.”

“Yeah, yeah. You would think people would have forgotten by now.” Clint grumbled making Tori stifle a laugh. Forget the people that saved New York from giant space whales? As if. She tried the door Clint had directed her to and found it locked. She sighed. “Probably should have expected that.” She pulled a bobby pin out of her hair and started to pick the lock. “So what exactly am I looking for here? Just some files?”

“That's what Hill said.” He confirmed. “Probably something on the tech they are trying to sell, you know, arms dealery stuff.” The lock clicked and the door swung open. Tori quickly slipped inside, closing the door behind her.

Wasting no time, she immediately started pilfering the desk in front of her, looking for anything that might be of note. “This guys desk is a fucking mess. Do you have any clue what I’m looking for specifically?”

“Uhhh.” Clint replied, making Tori groan.

“You didn't think to ask for specifics?” Jesus Christ, half of these documents are in German, do you even kn-” Her eyes went wide as she looked up. She didn't know how she managed to miss the giant, bell-shaped, hunk of metal with a fucking swastika in the middle of it, when she entered the room, but she did. Especially since, now that she noticed it, the thing seemed to produce a low, unnatural hum. “Uh, Clint?”

“What is it? Did you find something? You gotta hurry up the guards are on their way back.” Clint urged as she approached the Nazi bell.

“Are you sure Maria only said anything about files?” The bell seemed to grow more agitated as she stepped closer, vibrating strongly enough that its edges seemed to blur. “What the hell is this thing?” As she reached out, the door crashed open. She whipped around to see the two guards from earlier, their guns aimed directly at her. Thinking fast, she dove towards the desk as the guns fired. The bullets hit the bell with a thundering clang, causing the bell to go deathly silent before emitting a dull blue glow. The glow quickly intensified into a blinding blue-white light until a shock wave of energy exploded from the bell with a deafening gong. 

Tori was thrown against the back wall with such force she saw stars. Groaning, she stumbled to her fee as alarms started blaring. Swearing to herself, she blindly grabbed a handful of loose papers, and ran out of the room, jumping over the two, now unconscious, guards in the process. Glancing both ways down the hall, she swore again as she saw a swarm of guards running down the way she came. Papers in hand, she sprinted down the corridor away from the guards.

“Clint? I could use a little back up right about now!” She hollered but got no response. “Clint!” she said again, raising a hand to her ear. Her heart dropped when she felt no communicator. “Son of a bitch.” Hooking a right down another hallway, she stumbled as the building shook, another loud gong ripping from the bell now rooms away. Damn that thing was loud. The walls began to crack from the force of the shock waves. It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize that bell was going to bring the entire building down.

Tori looked over her shoulder, the guards were nowhere to be seen. God only knew if they were going to come back or if they had decided to save themselves. With the noises the building was making, Tori honestly couldn't blame them if they chose the second option. The reg glint of an exit sign caught her eye as she turned down yet another hall. “Thank god.” She gasped, forcing herself to run just a little faster. She lunged at the exit as a third gong tore through the building.

She fell out of the emergency exit gasping for breath as the sound of sirens screeched over head. She froze as she took in her surroundings. Why was it so dark? Pulling her phone out of her bra, she checked the time. 5:36 pm glowed up at her brightly. She shook her head, that was impossible. It was far far too dark. She looked back at the building she escaped from, only to find it completely restored to its original state. Except, she noticed, there was no door for her to exit out of. “What the fuck is going on here?”

The sirens continued as she turned on her phone’s flashlight. No signal, she noticed, great. She walked out of the alley and down the street, not a single light was on anywhere, not even streetlights. Did that bell have something to do with this? She looked down at the papers she managed to grab as the sound of planes roared overhead. ‘Die Glocke’ was all she was able to read before being unceremoniously dragged into the shop next to her.

“What the bloody hell do you think you're doing? Walking around with a torch in the middle of an air raid? Are you mad?” The woman scolded, Tori’s phone in her hand. Tori’s jaw dropped as the woman fumbled with her phone: Peggy Carter. The Peggy Carter. The same one whose picture Tori passed every day walking into the shield offices. That Peggy Carter was now standing in front of her, trying to figure out how a cell phone worked. “How do you turn this bloody thing-”

An explosion rocked the street, shattering the glass of the shop they were in. Both women dove to the floor on instinct. Tori took the phone from Peggy and turned off the light. She popped her head up and peeked through the broken window. The building she had just escaped from was now reduced to a pile of rubble. Holy shit, she realized, That bell has sent her back in time. She had no chance to rationalize this information when she heard the signature sound of a gun being cocked. She turned to see Peggy pointing a pistol at Tori’s head.

“Who are you, what are you doing here, and what is that?” Peggy gestured to Tori’s phone. Oh god, how does someone even begin to explain time travel via Nazi bell.

Tori took a deep breath. “Do you want the answer that make me look like a nutcase? Or the quickly cobbled together lie you probably won't believe?”

“I want the truth” Peggy answered firmly, making Tori feel very much like a scolded child.

“My name is Victoria Taylor. I am here because of an accident.” She said slowly, trying to give herself time to plan out how to explain time travel. “I, well, I was sent back in time by a giant Nazi bell.” Tori glanced at the crumpled papers still in her hand. “Here!” She shoved the papers towards Peggy. “Die glocke, the bell! Maybe this can help explain it.” Peggy eyed her warily before taking the papers. Peggy squinted at them, reading slowly with the lack of light. Slowly, she lowered her gun, instead focusing on the documents.

Peggy sighed, “You're right. Your story does make you sound like a nutter, but these documents…” her voice trailed off as another bomb rocked the street. “It isn’t safe up here.” She said simply, grabbing Tori by the arm and pulling her towards the back of the building. “How did you get into this situation Victoria?”

Tori stumbled, trying to keep up with Peggy, as she dragged Tori through the shop. “I’m an agent of shield.” She paused for a moment, should she really be saying this? “An organization you help form after the war.”

“At this point the war doesn't feel like it will ever be over.” Peggy sighed again, stopping in front of a blank wall. She stepped forward and pressed an unseen switch. The wall opened up to reveal a small elevator. 

Tori stopped just short of following Peggy inside. “Are you sure this is a good idea during an air raid?”

“We don't have time for this nonsense.” Peggy said, rolling her eyes and pulling Tori in by the collar just as the doors began to close. Peggy looked over the papers again in the dim light of the elevator. “You said you were an agent Victoria?”

“Yes.”

“And no doubt you want to get back to your time.”

“Well, yeah, that would be preferable.”

Peggy nodded. “Then I supposed, you would have no issue helping us find this bell HYDRA created.”

Tori looked at her, “Who is ‘us’ in this equation?”

“The Strategic Scientific Reserve. SSR for short. Have you heard of it Agent Taylor?” The elevator rattled as more bombs exploded above.

Tori scoffed, “Heard of it? I was named after one of the agents. Yeah, I’ll be glad to help, especially if it gets me home.”

Peggy furrowed her brow, “What agent were you named after?”

“Agent Victoria Rose Taylor? My family has been in shield since its inception, I grew up hearing all the stories about her.”

Peggy shook her head as the elevator stopped. “There is no Agent Victoria Taylor. Unless you count yourself.” She said before stepping out into the hall.

Tori went wide eyed as Peggy’s words sank in. “Oh my god. I was named after myself.”


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After 4 days of working on it, chapter 1 is done. A lot of this is set up, so not much bucky but he should be present a lot more onwards!

Storm clouds hung heavy in the sky as Victoria sat in the back of a jeep bound for the current SSR base in Italy. Almost two years of searching and there was barely any information on the bell to go off of. It was beyond frustrating. At this rate, she was starting to wonder if she would ever get back to her time. Granted, all of the documents she brought back were dated 1943 or later, chances were development on the bell had only just begun. And if that were the case, hopefully, it wasn’t going to take them seventy years to finish.

Her general lack of ability to change anything also proved to be frustrating as hell. Only Peggy knew of Victoria’s true origins. They had both decided against going around saying she was from the future, god only knew that would just get them both locked up. However, as a result, that meant she was far less likely to be believed any time she tried to keep an event from happening if she lacked any evidence. She never thought she would sympathize with Cassandra.

“I was beginning to wonder when you’d show up.” A familiar voice teased as the jeep came to a halt. Victoria smiled as she saw Peggy waiting to inspect the arriving convoy. Peggy had managed to make the last two years far more bearable, becoming quick friends with victoria.

“You know me,” She said, jumping out of the back of the jeep. “I like to keep everyone guessing.”

Peggy smiled as Victoria approached. “Perhaps a little too much.” She accused. “How was Paris?”

Victoria shrugged and canted her head, “Beautiful city, great food, interesting history.” She crossed her arms. “Too bad I wanted to shoot the majority of my company.”

“I trust you were able to resist the temptation?” Said Peggy eyeing Victoria in amusement.

“Figured I would let the boys have the nazi killing fun for now.” She sniffed indignantly. “Kind of regret it now. At least then I would have something to account for coming back.”

“No luck on the bell?”

“No luck on anything.” Victoria corrected, “A whole lot of Nazis but no hydra. It seems the intel we had was either old or false.”

Peggy nodded at one of the soldiers carrying a crate from a truck. “You think they’ve caught on to us?”

Victoria chewed her cheek. “I’m not sure. I can’t say they knew I was coming, or I’d be dead. Or at least so I would assume. I don’t see any reason why they would keep me alive knowing I’m a spy. But at the same time, there wasn’t a single member of hydra there. I’ve never seen that before, usually there’s at least one.

Peggy narrowed her eyes. “If we aren’t being fed false information then somethings happening.”

“And whatever it is, I think the ones outside of hydra are just about as in the dark as we are. Hydra’s making a play, a big one.”

“A faction split?” Peggy offered.

“It’s possible. But if it’s that, they’ve got to be pretty confident that they can win.” Victoria scratched the back of her neck, entirely unsure of what to make about any of it.

Peggy nodded, “if what the surviving 107th are saying is true, it seems they’ve got just that.” Seemingly content with the convoy, Peggy started towards the SSR command tent. “Your history books say anything about this?”

Victoria followed close behind. “About the 107th? Not much. They get captured, Captain America comes in and saves the day singlehandedly. Dunno how much stock I put into to all that personally. Lotta things about the Cap and hydra got covered up after the war by shield. Especially in the history books.”

Peggy frowned, walking into the tent. “I can believe it. I’ve seen Rogers in action, unfortunately, the army seems content parading him around America singing about war bonds.

Victoria’s eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me, what?”

“Peggy gestured to the poster hanging from a support beam of the tent. “Captain America,” it read, “on tour: Allied bases across Europe and North Africa.” Victoria bit her lip to keep from laughing, this was not how she ever imagined meeting Captain America.

“They, they really have him singing?” She said, fighting to keep a straight face.

“Dancing at the very least,” said Peggy, not sounding the slightest bit amused. “Bloody waste if you ask me. He’ll be arriving and preforming here tomorrow.”

Victoria shook her head, still staring at the poster. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

The captain’s performance was, frankly, every bit as hilarious as Victoria expected. The rest of the crowd, however, didn’t seem to agree. Instead, they demanded the dancing girls come back on stage. Victoria grimaced as the famous steve rogers walked off stage, noticeably embarrassed. The captain America she knew was a hero, a legend even. But this was before all of his exploits before he saved the world more times than she could count. He barely seemed to be the same man.

She held back for a time, figuring he would want space after such a humiliation. But, as the rain that had been threatening for two days now began to pour, she went searching for him. Surely there was something that pushed him out of the theater and into heroism because he was far better at the latter. Whose brilliant idea even was it to have him dancing around in the first place?

She found him with Peggy, taking refuge from the rain under a wooden awning behind the stage. Peggy’s face was stern as Victoria neared, “And these are your only options? Lab rat or dancing monkey?”

“War hero seems like a fun third option.” Victoria cut in, earning a raised eyebrow from Peggy. “Or, you know, literally anything else.”

He looked at Victoria with apprehension and confusion as Peggy took a patient breath. “What agent Taylor means, is you were meant for more than this.”

Victoria extended a hand to him. “Sorry, my humor isn’t for everyone. Victoria Taylor.”

He nodded, shaking her hand. “Steve Rogers.” He sighed as his attention was pulled to an arriving red cross truck. “These men look like they’ve gone through hell.”

Victoria crossed her arms, “They’ve gone through war.”

“These men more than most. They’re what’s left of the 107th.” Peggy agreed and victoria winced. What these men had seen seemed to make hell seem heavenly.

Steves’ eyes went wide. “The 107th?” He was up and running to the command tent before Peggy could even respond. Peggy and victoria shared a glance before chasing after him through the rain.

Col. Phillips sat signing what were presumably condolence letters at his desk in the back fo the tent as steve rushed up to him. Phillips looked up just barely before returning to the letters. “If it isn’t the star-spangled man with a plan. What do I own the pleasure.”

“I need the casualty list from Azzano,” Steve said with unexplained urgency.

Phillips looked up from his papers with a glare. “You don’t get to give me orders.”

“I just need one name,” Steve continued, “Sergeant James Barnes of the 107th.” The name tugged the back of Victoria’s memory, she had heard it somewhere before, in a museum maybe? That was right, she recalled the handsome picture of a soldier engraved in stone in the howling commando exhibit at the Smithsonian. He had been the one that died. Steve lost his best friend. Victoria gave him a pitiful look as he argued with Phillips, she had always thought that Barnes became a commando before dying.

“But I don’t expect you to understand that because you’re a chorus girl.” Phillips’s harsh words pulled Victoria out of her thoughts.

“I think I understand just fine,” Steve responded coolly.

“Then understand it somewhere else, if I read the posters right you have somewhere to be in 30 minutes.” Phillips moved passed him to look over maps with another officer, making his stance on the conversation clear.

“Yes sir,” Steve said, studying the large map board in front of him, “I do.” He turned on his heels and rushed out of the tent, leaving Peggy and Victoria in his wake.

“I’ll go after him,” Peggy whispered to Victoria. “We need maps and supplies, whatever you can think of, then meet us in the hangar as soon as you can.”

Victoria nodded letting Peggy follow after Steve. She stood there for a moment, pretending to study the map board before quickly and casually taking a smaller map off Col. Phillips desk and slipping it into her coat. With a nod to the nearest officer, Victoria walked out of the tent and into the rain.

Already thoroughly drenched from her previous two treks thought the rain, she didn’t bother trying to shield herself from the downpour as she made her way to the nearest storehouse. Knowing Peggy, they were probably going to get court-martialed with whatever she had planned, so might as well go the whole hog and steal any supplies steve might need.

She grabbed a gunny sack as soon as she entered the storeroom and started filling: A compass, multiple rations of food, a blanket, flashlight, rope, matches. Anything and everything that she could think of that he might need should he get lost. ‘Cause God knows, the way he was charging off, he damn well didn’t consider any of this.

“Hey!” A guard called to her. “You aren’t authorized to take any of this!”

She slung the sack over her shoulder as the guard approached. “Youll find that I am, private.” She bluffed. “Under official SSR orders. Unless that is, you want to waste Col Phillips time clearing it with him first?” The guard blanched at the mention of Phillips’s name.

“No, Ma’am!” He said quickly, stepping out of her way. Victoria gave a sharp nod before escaping the warehouse. She started toward the Hangar before pausing and looking at the stage. A devilish smile came over her as she changed her course.

The backstage was empty when victoria entered, likely all the actors and dancers were still on break, leaving the costumes unguarded. Because, really, who on earth would want to steal them, beside Victoria. She hummed the tune to ‘star-spangled man’ as she picked up a helmet with a large white ‘A’. one thing was for sure, steve was going to save the 107th in (extremely questionable) style.

Peggy, steve and stark were waiting at the hangar when Victoria arrived, helmet in hand, a grin plastered across her face. “You know, for a star-spangled man with a plan, I’m wondering if you’ve ever had a plan in your life.” She teased, handing him the helmet and sack of supplies.

Steve gave Victoria a look as he fiddled with the helmet, “In all fairness ma’am, you haven’t known me long.”

“First impressions mean a lot, Rogers.” She shrugged, moving onto Peggy. “Though I’m not sure if this plan is much better than no plan.” She said in a low voice only Peggy could hear.

“We don’t have many other options at the current moment.” Peggy defended as Steve and Stark boarded the plane. “Unless you somehow convinced Col. Phillips to give us an army.”

“I’m not a miracle worker.” Victoria sighed.

“You said he was able to do this single-handed, we just need to have faith.” Peggy took a deep breath, even she didn’t seem completely convinced.

Victoria nodded, “Time to prove the history books right. I’ll stay grounded to try to keep the colonel distracted. Go.” Victoria gave a mock salute as the plane took off, leaving her behind.

Keeping Phillips occupied until the plane returned proved to be quite easy. He was already extremely busy, and with some strategic playing dumb and careful excuses as to why she was doing Peggy’s work, he was none the wiser until the plane landed the next morning. Then the shit hit the fan.

Steve didn’t come back. Two weeks after the flight to Austria and there was absolutely no sign of him either. Phillips was furious, Victoria did everything in her power to avoid him, though she knew it wouldn’t be long before consequences came. There was a good possibility that her chance to get home was lost if steve didn’t show up.

Victoria sat on the ground against a tree, picking at her fingers. At this point, she didn’t even care about getting home. Instead, she couldn’t shake the guilt of getting an avenger killed before the avengers were even a thing. The guilt of it alone made it difficult for her to even sleep at night. She would have gone into Austria herself to find him, if Phillips hadn’t expressly forbidden it, and kept an armed guard on her 24/7 as a baby sitter.

“You look like a child that’s been sent to the headmaster,” Peggy said looking down at her.

Victoria nodded, “Feel like it too.”

“Do you regret helping him?” Peggy asked, voice tight.

“Victoria sighed and looked up at her, “I regret not helping him more.” She admitted, “I teased him about not having a plan, and then didn’t even try to give him one. I could have followed that dumbass into Austria myself.” The young soldier asking as victoria’s baby sitter shifted uncomfortably. “Stop acting like you’ve never heard a woman fucking swear Simmons.”

“Y-yes ma’am” He stammered and Victoria rolled her eyes.

“We did everything we could for him,” Peggy reassured, ignoring Simmons. “He would have walked to Austria if we didn’t help him.”

Victoria laughed weakly, “I’ve done stupider things.” She paused for a beat, biting her lip, “Peggy, I, I’m sorry about this all. I could tell how much you liked him.”

Peggy swallowed, “Yes, well. I’m glad he wasn’t stuck as a dancing monkey.” She cleared her throat, “I’m going to speak with Col. Phillips if you would like to join me.”

Victoria scoffed, “No, I’d rather him find me if he wants to chew me out.” Peggy nodded and left victoria sitting under her tree. No doubt Phillips would be in a bad mood. He was finally calling off the searches today, officially labeling Steve Rogers as KIA. God, if only she had just gone with him as back up, at least then either he would be alive or she’d be too dead to care.

She threw her head back in frustration as hoots and hollers came from the front of the camp. Soldiers began funning to the gates, curious, Victoria joined them. She gasped when she saw what the soldiers were congregating for.

A hundred some odd men came marching through the gates, Steve Rogers, Captain America, leading the way. Cheers rippled through the crowd as the group walked through the camp, stopping in front of Col. Phillips. Victoria slipped between the men in efforts to get a better view.

“Hey!” The man next to steve yelled, making victoria freeze, surprised, as she saw the familiar handsome face of a man she had only seen in museum exhibits. “Let’s hear it for Captain America!” The crowd roared, men throwing their caps in the air, whistling, yelling, clapping. Victoria found herself clapping too as Barnes’s eyes locked onto hers for a brief moment. He smiled faintly as he caught sight of her, a sparkle of something in his steel-blue eyes as she shifted her attention to finding Col. Phillips.

She moved through the crowd in search of him, only to find him missing from it. She soon found him exactly where she expected him to be, the SSR command tent. She wore a sly smirk that would have read ‘I told you so” Had he bothered to look up at her. Instead, he focused on packing away his desk. “Don’t think for a moment that just because Captain Rogers came back that you’re off my shit list Agent Taylor.”

She frowned, “He saved at least a hundred and fifty men. I played a part in that.”

“And that’s exactly why I’m not court martialing you for theft of government property.” He said as he tucked away a folder into a box. “Tell Agent Carter to pack her things, we’re returning to London for debriefing first thing tomorrow.”

She scowled, “Yes sir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos give me life.


	3. Chapter 2

Being back in London was almost nostalgic to Victoria now. It felt like so long ago that she took her first trip down the elevator to the SSR base. She looked over the maps Steve drew looking for any hint of where the bell might be. Everyone else’s focus may have been on wiping out hydra, but she wanted to go home. Living through the ’40s might be good fun, but she had no intention of living through the ’50s.

She sighed, sitting back in her chair. Her notes and documents had led her to Paris, so logically, it would be best to try the French hydra base first. But her gut said it should be somewhere more defendable, pointing towards a German base. Especially after Steve took down the facility in Austria. She knew that they were going to take down every base, history told her that, so it didn't truly matter. but damn it, she wanted progress on the Bell.

Peggy watched her friend agonize over the documents for the umpteenth time. The way Victoria threw herself into her work always worried Peggy. Victoria was rash, and quick to act, and combining that with her tendency towards workaholism, she was either going to work herself sick, or get herself killed. Or both. She worked like she was running out of time. Only Col. Phillips seemed to have any power to slow her down. “Well?” Peggy finally broke the silence.

“Logically, France is out best bet. I could have myself planted into that town in a week. But if the Captain’s team is going to be shipped out any time soon, then I should be sent to Germany, they’ll probably take down the French and Italian bases before I’m even able to get settled.” Victoria said, poking at the map.

Peggy crossed her arms, “Captain Rogers’ team won't be shipped out for a few months yet.”

Victoria looked up at Peggy, “What?”

“They need to be trained before we send them anywhere,” Peggy said, looking over the maps and documents on Victoria’s desk.

Victoria shook her head, brows knitted together. “What the hell do you mean they need to be trained? I thought Phillips was sending his best.”

“The Captian requested that he choose his men himself.”

Victoria blinked at Peggy dumbly as the words sank in. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.” She stood up, chair screeching behind her, and stormed off to find Col. Phillips. “We don't have fucking time for this.” She growled to herself as she pushed various SSR agents out of her way. It would take at least two months to train new agents, soldiers, commandoes, whatever the hell they were intending to call themselves. And that wasn't even accounting for any mishaps that might happen during training. Officers moved out of her way as she charged up to Phillips. “Colonel Phillips.”

“Agent Taylor, I was wondering when you would be gracing me with your presence,” Phillips said sardonically.

“You can't be serious about making a team of completely untrained personnel.” She huffed, stopping in front of him.

“I am absolutely serious Agent Taylor. You,” He pointed at her, “Don’t get to question that.”

“It will take months. We’ll be wasting time!” She argued, gesturing wildly with her hands.

“Then I suppose you should be doing everything in your power to ensure their training goes as smoothly as possible.” He countered, handing a folder to a secretary and walking away.

Victoria stared at him wide-eyed for a moment before chasing after him. “What the hell do you mean by that?”

Phillips stopped abruptly and turned to face her. “What I mean is, you are in charge of their training. Congratulations Agent Taylor, you ship out to Scotland with them first thing Monday.”

She scowled, “I'm a spy, not a soldier. I should be working on worming my way into one of the hydra bases to-”

“That’s exactly why I’m assigning you to their training.” Phillips interrupted. “You understand what they are getting themselves into. And as much as I hate to admit it, you get results. Until further notice, you are to join and aid Captain Rogers’ commandoes.” He finished, mumbling “And maybe, it will keep you out of trouble.” as he left, leaving Victoria at a loss for words.

She growled, stomping back to her desk where Peggy was waiting. No doubt she already knew the Colonel’s decision. “Are you done stomping around like a child?”

“Absolutely not!” Victoria threw herself into her chair, nearly tipping it. “Fuck!” She said as she steadied herself. She took a deep breath, burying her face in her hands. “How the hell am I supposed to make sure these men are ready to storm hydra bases? I’ve never stormed a hydra base in my life Peg.”

Peggy leaned against Victoria’s desk. “That's never stopped you in the past. Why is it stopping you now?”

Victoria gapped for a moment. “I've only had to worry about myself in the past. Maybe one other person. Not an entire team of people.”

“Well now you do,” Peggy said. “Are you going to manage? Or are you just going to give up?”

“Give up?” Victoria sneered at the idea. “Of course I’m not going to give up. Too many lives are at stake if they aren’t prepared.”

Peggy smiled at her friend, “Well then, what do you intend to do?”

Victoria sighed, “I intend to get a drink.” She rubbed her temples. Peggy was right, Peggy was always bloody right. Victoria was beginning to wonder if she was the one from the future, or if Peggy was. “I should also have Steve introduce me to his guys.”

Peggy stood up, smoothing out her red dress. “Well, you could kill two birds with one stone.” Victoria looked up at her with an eyebrow raised. “I need to let Captain Rogers know that Howard needs him in the lab tomorrow morning. So I was going to go looking for him in the pub. If you would like to join me.” 

Victoria smirked, “I was wondering why you were all dressed up.”

Bucky sat at the bar waiting for Steve to return. He sighed as he took in the sounds of the bar, he needed this. After going through that hell, being tortured, feeling like he was going to lose his damn mind, he needed this leave more than anything. Hell, the entire 107th needed it. He sure as hell didn't want to go back any time soon either.

But he knew better. He knew Steve needed him. He knew that even with that serum making his best friend into a super-soldier, Steve was still that bull-headed idiot ready to jump into any fight. Steve needed his help, his strength, and Bucky was damned if he was going to let Steve down. So, as much as he didn't want to go back, he knew he had to.

Bucky smiled as Steve appeared through the bar room’s doors, the look on his face telling Bucky all he needed to know. “See?” Bucky said. “Told you, they're all idiots.” He sipped his drink as Steve sat down. They were all idiots, and at this point, Bucky was sure that he and Steve were the biggest idiots of all.

“How bout you? You ready to follow Captain America into the jaws of death?” A slight smile played on Steve’s lips as he asked.

“Hell no,” Bucky said, voice tired. “That little guy from Brooklyn that was too dumb not to run from a fight, I’m following him.” He looked at Steve and smiled before taking another drink and adding, “But you're keeping the outfit right?”

Steve turned and looked back at the Captain America tour poster, Bucky was never going to let him live this down. “You know what? It's kinda growing on me.”

The singing in the other room stopped, causing the pair to more to investigate as a woman in a red dress walked into the room. “Captain.” She said. Bucky looked her up and down as she walked up to Steve, he would be a liar if he said she wasn’t beautiful.

“Agent Carter.” Steve greeted and Bucky nodded a hello to her.

“Howard has some equipment for you to try. Tomorrow morning?” She said.

Steve nodded, “Sounds good.”

There was a moment of awkward silence before she spoke again. “I see your top squad is prepping for duty.”

Her comment bothered Bucky slightly, were they not allowed to enjoy themselves? “You don't like music?” He asked.

“I do, actually. I might, even, when this is all over, go dancing.” She answered, focusing solely on Steve.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Bucky said, mildly annoyed at her refusal to even look at him. 

“The right partner.” She smiled at Steve, “0800, Captain.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be there.” He nodded as she left.

Bucky huffed in shock at her rejection. “I’m invisible. I’m… I’m turning into you. It’s like some horrible dream.”

Steve chuckled, clapping Bucky on the shoulder. “Don’t take it too hard, I hear she’s got a friend.”

As if on cue, a loud crash came from the other room. All music and singing stopped as a woman's voice yelled, “Touch me again and you’ll get more than a broken nose asshole!” The two men rushed into the room to find a woman in an SSR uniform standing over a soldier bleeding profusely from the face. From the looks of it, she did indeed manage to break his nose. She tucked a bit of disheveled hair behind her ear and straightened her coat with a huff.

She was the woman with the beautiful smile Bucky had seen when he first got back to the camp he realized. He didn't know she had gone on leave with the 107th. “That is Agent Carter’s friend,” Steve whispered in Bucky’s ear. He couldn't help but laugh. Yes, of course, the one that just broke a man’s nose was Agent Carter’s friend. At the very least, he was impressed. It wasn't every day that you meet a woman that knows how to break a man’s nose.

Hearing his laughter, she turned to look at them as the man scrambled away in shame. “Captain Rogers.” Unlike Agent Carter, She didn’t seem happy to see him. “I was hoping to be able to finish my drink before I found you.” She picked a glass up off the bar and downed it.

Steve scoffed and crossed his arms. “Is everything alright Agent Taylor?”

“Besides being groped by drunk soldiers that don't know the meaning of ‘leave me alone’?” She glanced back at the two soldiers nearest to her. The men paled noticeably and took a step back. Bucky frowned at them, who paled even further when they noticed his glare, they knew Bucky wasn't going to let them get away with that. They were going to wish they had walked away with broken noses. “No, Actually, I’m here to meet your team.” She sighed, clearly not wanting to be there.

Steve looked at her for a moment before nodding, “This is Sergeant James Barnes” He said, gesturing to Bucky. She smiled at him in a way that made Bucky wonder if she recognized him from Italy. “He’s my-”

“Best friend?” She asked, an eyebrow raised and a playful smile on her lips. “I assumed as much considering I was nearly court-martialed trying to help you save him. Or, were you going to say second in command?” She teased as she held her hand out to him. “I’m Agent Victoria Taylor.” He smiled as he shook her hand, she certainly wasn't afraid to speak her mind. “Who are the others?” She asked, suddenly more serious. 

Steve gestured towards the table of men nearest to the trio, eyeing them cautiously. Or more specifically, they were eyeing Victoria cautiously. She took a deep breath and mumbled something Bucky couldn't hear before approaching the table. “Hello men,” She said as she sat down with them.

Steve and Bucky followed her but remained standing. The other men grunted hellos before Steve spoke up. “With all due respect Agent Taylor. What is this all about?”

Victoria sighed, leaning back in her chair. “Col. Phillips, in his infinite wisdom, decided to place me in charge of ensuring your men are properly prepared and trained to take down hydra.” She couldn’t sound more sarcastic if she tried.

“Phillips is sending his secretaries to train us?” Dum Dum gruffed, clearly unsure of what to make of the situation.

“Spy, actually.” Falsworth corrected before Victoria could. “Though, I thought you were with MI6”

Victoria looked at Falsworth for a moment before recognition bloomed on her face. “You're that paratrooper I helped in Russia.” She shook her finger at him, “Falsworth, wasn't it?”

“Its good to see you again Agent Taylor. I never did get to thank you for saving my hide.” He nodded, raising his glass to her. Victoria nodded in response.

Bucky grabbed the back of a chair, looking at her incredulously, “You don’t seem to be particularly enthused about this.” Victoria looked up at him, and he swore he saw the ghost of a smile flash on her lips before she glanced away.

“You're absolutely right.” She said. “If I had my way, I would be halfway to fucking Germany right now.” Bucky’s lip curled upward, that was the second time he heard her curse, she really didn't give a damn what any of them though, did she?

“It’s not very ladylike to swear like that you know.” Dum Dum said, a twinkle in his eye as he took a drink of his stout.

Victoria looked taken aback at his comment. Her eyebrow quirked upward as she nodded her head. “My apologies.” She said, “I didn't realize I was supposed to conform myself to your ideals of a lady. I’ll be sure to do that when I remember to give a damn.”

The table was silent for a beat before bursting into laughter. “Alright,” Dum Dum said, wiping tears from his eyes. “You've made a fair point there.”

“I’m glad,” She said, “I already went over my daily allowance of broken noses.”

“You know Doll if more dames could punch like that, we might have already won the war,” Bucky said, finally sitting down.

Victoria looked at him, scoffing slightly, “Well, Sergeant Barnes, That's something you should take up with your superiors. I know plenty of nurses that would have rathered guns over bandages.”

“I’ll be sure to get right on that,” He said. He liked her attitude, her willingness to speak her mind, and her wit. “And you can call me Bucky. Everyone else here does.”

She smiled that smile Bucky was already starting to like a bit too much. “I think you’ll find that I don’t do things just because everyone else does, Sarge.” Bucky was left speechless as the men around him laughed. He had honest to god, no damn clue how to respond to that.

Steve laughed at his friend’s silence. “You may just be the first woman that managed to make Buck speechless.” He said. Bucky’s cheeks warmed and he elbowed Steve in the side.

She laughed, it was a nice laugh almost giggly, “If that’s all it takes then you must not talk to many girls.”

Bucky feigned offense, “I’ll have you know, Brooklyn’s gals were heartbroken when I was shipped out.”

Victoria hummed, unconvinced, “Guess you must talk and never listen then.”

“I’m listenin’ to ya now, ain’t I Doll?” He shot back.

“There's a first for everything.” She grinned.

“Doll, I’m starting to think you're tryin’ to hurt my feelings.”

She gasped, placing a hand on her chest, “Me? Never.” She looked over the men once more before drumming her hands on the table. “As much fun as I’m having boys, I still have work to do. I also regret to inform you all, that your leave ends Monday. You are all expected to be on the train to Inverness at 0600 Monday morning.” The men groaned.

“You're killin’ us!” Morita said, “We only just got here. We need a break!”

“Sucks for you.” She said with a shrug. “I haven't had a break in two years, I’m sure you’ll survive.” She stood up with a stretch. “I’ll see you all on the train. Cap.” She nodded to Steve, then gave Bucky a mischevious smile, “Sergeant Barnes.” She said with a casual salute.

Bucky watched her intently as she left. He found himself far more excited about the end of leave than he was just a few hours ago. Steve grabbing his shoulder pulled Bucky’s attention away from her. “And you said you were turning into me.”

Bucky rolled his eyes as the men teased him, “Yeah yeah. Laugh it up. We’ll see how much you assholes are laughing on the train at six in the morning.”

“Whatever you say, Sergeant Barnes.” Dum Dum teased, downing the last of his pint.


	4. Chapter 3

Victoria flipped through the dossiers for the hundredth time that morning alone. The team wasn't all that bad. She had seen Falsworth in action just last year, no doubt he already had the majority of this training. There was a Howard University graduate, fluent in three languages, Victoria wondered if he would be willing to learn a fourth. Next, a member of the resistance with an expertise in explosives. After that, an army ranger able to speak Japanese, and a man that, quite frankly, looked like he was trying to impersonate Teddy Roosevelt. All in all, they weren't nearly as bad as Victoria had been expecting, and from first encounters, they all seemed enjoyable as well.

She paused when she flipped to Bucky’s dossier. The black and white photo didn't do him justice. Not that the photo was bad, just that it really couldn't quite capture his eyes or his smile for that matter. Reading his dossier was like reading his exhibit in the Smithsonian, all cold facts and information that failed to perfectly reflect the man she had met just two days ago. It felt so surreal, knowing someone so full of life and knowing that they were going to die. She thought back to the exhibit, clearly, he wasn't supposed to die in Azzano, she thought that had sounded wrong. But for the life of her, she couldn't quite recall how he was supposed to die, just vaguely something about a train. Victoria wondered if there was a way to prevent it.

If she even could. Any time she tried to prevent anything, it never worked. Either way, she needed to stop worrying about him. As charming as he was, she had a job to do, a home to get back to. And she wasn't about to let some pretty eyes distract her. Especially, when those eyes belonged to someone from the god damned ‘40s.

A tug on her hair pulled her from her thoughts, making her jump. She looked back to see Bucky in the back of the Jeep she was waiting in, a boyish grin plastered on his face, and Steve rolling his eyes next to him. “Really Barnes? Pulling on girls' hair? What are you, ten?”

“Can’t argue with methods that work Doll.” He beamed, “We’ve been tryin’ to get your attention a few minutes now. And I thought I was Sergeant Barnes.”

“Last I checked, ten-year-olds don't get to be sergeants.” She said with a teasing look.

“Shoulda told him that when he enlisted,” Steve said with a smile, elbowing Bucky in the side.

Victoria furrowed her brow, “Enlisted?” Bucky frowned, giving a nearly imperceptible shake of his head. “I’m not used to working with men who willingly enlisted.” She quickly lied. Clearly, Steve had no idea Bucky was drafted, and that was not something Victoria was about to reveal herself. “Are you and your men ready to go?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Steve nodded, glancing behind his shoulder and then at Bucky, “We’re all present and accounted for.”

She smiled and nodded to the driver, “You heard the man. Shouldn't need me to tell you to get this show on the road.” The soldier grunted, and the Jeep moved forward with a jolt. “The camp is about half an hour out, but a warm meal should be waiting for everyone when we get there.”

“Sounds great,” Steve said, “Any idea on what this training will entail?”

“Nope,” She popped the ‘p’ for emphasis. “Haven't been planning it out all weekend of anything.” She looked back to see Steve slightly flushed. Smiling, she shifted in her seat to talk to them easier, “I’ve got what Phillips wants you to know, I’ve got what I know you guys need to know to survive alone in Germany, and then I’ve got whatever the hell it is Stark has cooked up for your ace team. I figure if you boys learn one or two things each during the next few weeks, were golden.”

“One or two things each?” Steve questioned, “Don't you think you're setting the bar low?”

Victoria shook her head, “Absolutely not. This training facility is for training spies and saboteurs, people that need to be able to survive in a warzone completely and totally alone. Most of the recruits won't even make it the first two weeks. If I held your team to the same standard, over half of them would fail. It’s nothing wrong with them, the training is just that strict and we don’t have time to mess around. Hell, I would have failed it if I didn’t cheat a little.”

Bucky laughed, “You sure you should be telling us that Doll?”

“What are they going to do?” She asked, “Fire me? As much as Phillips hates me, he knows he can’t afford to fire me. It's a very interesting sense of job security.”

“I’m sure Col. Phillips doesn’t hate you,” Steve said, sounding entirely unsure himself. Peggy, no doubt, told him about the countless little squabbles Victoria had gotten into with Col. Phillips.

“The entire reason I was assigned to train you is because Phillips thinks it will keep me out of his hair.” She said, looking out the jeep to the frostbitten countryside. She had no doubt Phillips didn't mind the idea of her freezing her ass off in the middle of winter either, just as long as he didn't have to deal with her.

“Speaking of trains,” Bucky spoke up, “I thought you said you were going to meet us on the trains, not picking us up from it.”

Victoria looked at him with an eyebrow raised, “I was. Then I got tired of waiting and took the last train out on Friday. I don't like staying in one place long.”

“We were barely in London for a few days Doll.” His flirtatious smile made Victoria bite back a smile of her own. 

“What exactly is this ‘Doll’ nonsense?” She asked, locking eyes with Bucky. “Last I checked I wasn’t a doll.”

“You’re as pretty as one though,” He winked and her heart skipped. How someone could be so damn charming, Victoria had no idea.

“Wow.” She said, her lips finally curling upwards. “Bet you break a lot of hearts with that one.”

His face went stony as if she had accused him of something serious. “Never intentionally. I would never break a dame’s heart if I could help it.”

“You better be careful then,” She said softly, “Flirting like that is liable to break more than a few.” Something about how he said it, how earnest his voice sounded, made her want to believe him. However, she had no doubt in her mind that he had unintentionally broken many hearts.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He said, seriousness fading only barely. He was a good man, Victoria decided, better than most. Which only made his fate rest even more uneasily in her mind. He didn’t deserve to die. She barely knew him and still felt with all her heart that she wanted to save him.

The rest of the ride to the camp was peacefully quiet, save for a few quips back and forth between Steve and Bucky. And, as promised, dinner awaited all of them when they arrived. The length of the trip took the majority of the day, leaving the men the evening to settle in. Tomorrow would be the start of their training, and the start of a very long two months.

  


* * *

  
  


The next few days proved to be interesting. The commandoes quickly fell into a daily routine, in the mornings would be general physical training and combat training, mainly trying the group trying to learn how the hell to fight with a shield. The afternoons after lunch would be far more varying, the subject would change daily, covering a wide variety of topics, from picking locks to explosives and demolition. Bucky found the routine to be strangely comforting as if he were back in basic and not training to be some elite force for Captain America. Of course, his basic training never had a pretty woman supervising over it.

It was easy for Bucky to grow fond of Victoria in the week that he had known her thus far. Fiery and sassy, She was quick to argue with just about everyone if she felt so inclined. Frankly, she reminded him of Steve in a lot of ways. Just being around her would put Bucky in a good mood. Which was exactly why he was grinning like an idiot as he and Steve trekked down to the explosives range after lunch.

Victoria was carrying crates from a truck with Dernier as the two men approached, early for training by at least fifteen minutes. As she lifted a particularly large crate Bucky stepped in to take it from her. “I can carry it, Sergeant.” She said, refusing to give over the crate.

He gave her a cocky smile, “Sorry doll, but if my Ma found out I didn’t help a woman carry something so heavy, she’d have my hide.” She looked at him for a moment, considering his argument, before smiling and handing over the crate.

“Take it to the pile by the tables, you too Steve,” She ordered, nodding at steve who was grabbing a crate of his own. “Once you’re there, help Jacques unpack them onto the tables.” The men nodded and followed her direction, carrying the crates to the tables. They were hardly halfway there when Victoria passed them with an even larger crate, a devilish smirk on her face. “Come on boys, at least try to keep up!”

The men stopped in their tracks, bewildered. Steve was the first to crack, laughing so hard he nearly dropped his crate. “Careful punk,” Bucky warned. “Don’t need Captain America blowing up on us.”

“I was wondering why she gave in so easy,” Steve said, regaining his composure and continuing toward the tables where Dernier and Victoria were now unpacking various explosive chemicals.

Bucky chuckled, “Yeah, shoulda really expected something like that, huh?” He said, setting his crate next to Steve’s. Bucky looked up at her as he opened up the box, barely paying attention to what he was doing. She really was something, just about everything she did somehow managed to play on Bucky’s mind on repeat even hours after it had happened. After all the things Bucky had seen and experienced, her presence was almost ethereal, too good to be true. “She’s funny like that, ain't she. Most gals would have loved to have someone helping them.”

“Her and Peggy are cut from the same cloth,” Steve said, setting a box of TNT onto the table. 

Bucky pulled wires and fuses from his crate, tearing his attention away from Victoria. “You think so?” Bucky didn't know Peggy well, beyond when she completely rejected him at the bar, but Steve seemed head over heels for her. Bucky was pretty sure that he’d heard more about Peggy in the last few days than he had about anyone else coming from Steve.

“I don’t think she would be friends with anyone who wasn’t,” Steve said, leaning against the table. “You seem to like her though.” Bucky rolled his eyes; as if that wasn’t the most obvious statement in the world. He had been openly flirting with her since they met. Unfortunately, despite her flirting back, she seemed perfectly content keeping Bucky at a distance.

“Steve!” Victoria called from a different table. “Toss me a bundle of TNT please.” Steve obliged, tossing the bundle with an underhand throw directly into her arms. “Thanks!” She said with a smile and a nod before turning back to Dernier.

“Why is it you get to be Steve and I’m still ‘Sergeant Barnes’?” Bucky complained. “I’m the only one she calls by rank and last name.”

Steve shrugged, “She calls Col. Phillips by rank and last name.” he said, looking over one of the TNT bundles.

“Steve,” Bucky crossed his arms, “She hates Col. Phillips.”

Steve chuckled, “I’m pretty sure she’s doing it to fuck with you, Buck. If its really bothering you, ask her to stop.” He tossed the bundle in his hand into the air, catching it again with ease. “How big do you think the explosion would be if we blew up a whole box of these?”

Bucky stared at his friend, knowing exactly what was going through his head. A boyish smile grew on Bucky’s face “You think it’ll be anything like that Fourth of July when we were teenagers?” He asked, taking the last box of TNT from the crate.

“I was thinking more along the lines of Loony Toons.” Steve said, “Big crater in the grounds, burn marks everywhere.” 

Bucky laughed, he could only imagine it. Bucky took the bundle from Steve’s hands. “Only one way to find out right? I bet you a dollar it’s like the fireworks. These things are basically just giant firecrackers right?” He said, taking the box and bundle out away from the tables until he was sure it was safe. After setting the box down, he lit the bundle with his lighter and threw it into the box, before backing away to what he thought was a safe distance.

Bucky glanced back at Steve as the TNT went off. He didn't have a chance to react as the force of the blast sent him flying backward. His ears rang as he blinked away the shock. He didn't feel hurt, so that was a good sign, but damn, if he didn't expect that.

“Bucky?! Holy shit are you okay?” A frantic voice asked. Still dazed, he turned his head to see Steve and Victoria next to him. “You could have died!” She fretted over him, checking for injuries. “I thought you would have been the responsible one after Steve tried to walk to Austria. Jesus Christ. But no, here you are, almost blowing yourself up.”

“I am the responsible one.” He argued. Steve scoffed and shook his head, but didn’t try to deny it, knowing he would be proven wrong. Bucky blinked a few more times while brushing dust out of his hair until the realization struck him. “Since when do you call me Bucky?”

Victoria scowled, “You almost got yourself killed and you're seriously focusing on what name I call you?”

Bucky smirked, “What can I say Doll, I was expecting the blast.”

She groaned, “Next time Barnes, run twice the distance you think you need to.” She rubbed her face and sighed. “What the hell were you even thinking?”

“That that punk was gonna do it if I didn’t,” He said, gesturing to Steve. Victoria stared at Steve, who returned her inspection with a sheepish smile as if to say that Bucky was completely right. “That had a hell of a lot more kick than the fireworks. That’s for sure.”

She rolled her eyes, “We were already going to blow it up!” She tried to continue to scold, but Bucky could see the corners of her lips twitching upwards. “Seriously, I actually will get fired if I let Captain America die on my watch.”

Bucky stood up and pulled a dollar bill from his pocket, handing it to Steve. “Trust me Doll, as long as I’m alive, I’m gonna make sure Steve is too.” 

Victoria’s face clouded over, “I don’t want you to die either.” She said with a level of earnestness that threw Bucky off.

“I ain’t gonna die on ya either.” He reassured, but she didn't seem to be convinced.

She took a deep breath, “Come on, the others are almost here.” She said, pointing at the three men coming down the hill. “We’ve gotta teach you all how to blow shit up without blowing yourself up in the process.”


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter honestly gets pretty dark, nothing graphic but trauma talk.

Victoria shivered against the late December wind as she made her way to the edge of the base. She was going to give Phillips so much hell when this was all over. Five days until Christmas, the middle of winter, and she was about to go camping. Camping of all things. She grumbled a bit more at her fate before readjusting the rucksack on her back and continuing.

The men were waiting at the edge of the woods as the instructing agent went over what they were expected to do over the next few days. “If you put your training to good use, you’ll be spending Christmas Eve in a warm bed, with a turkey dinner waiting for you when you wake up.” He said as she entered earshot.

“And if you have particularly good observational skills, It’ll only take about a six-hour ruck march to get there.” She added, hands grasping the straps of her pack as she walked up to the group.

The men groaned at the words ‘ruck march’ and the agent only sighed, “Glad to see you finally join us, Agent Taylor.” He said, frustration clear in his voice, “Perhaps it would be prudent to remind you, you are not allowed to help them with navigation.

Victoria rolled her eyes, “Still bitter I beat you at map reading then.” She said walking past him and towards the men, “I’m expressly forbidden from taking any kind of leadership role in this. Phillips wants your training tested, not mine.”

“You’re coming with us then, Agent Taylor?” Bucky asked, arms crossed. He always did his best to be professional in front of the other agents at the base, something Victoria could respect. It was a trait that didn't seem to be universal, much to her annoyance.

She nodded, “I’m under strict orders to train and aid the Howling Commandoes until Phillips needs me elsewhere. So here I am.” The men grinned in pride at the group name. They had spent weeks coming up with it.

Steve looked at Bucky and smiled, “We’re always happy to have you around, Ma’am.” Steve nodded to the men, and saluted the agent, “If that's all Sir, I think it’s time I confer with my team and head out.”

The agent saluted in return, “You’ve already got the maps, everything else is up to you.” He said, and turned to leave, though not before adding, “And if you miss it, Happy Christmas.”

Falsworth opened the map they had been supplied with and pointed to the target destination. Dugan helped hold the map open as Falsworth spoke, “The camp itself is about 30 kilometers east of here, the snow will slow us down but as long as we follow a relatively straight path, we should get there in no time.”

Steve pointed to a feature on the map, “A straight path might not be so easy with how rocky it gets around here, getting around the mountains might add a few klicks.” He looked hopefully at Victoria. “Do you know a good route?”

She scoffed, tilting her head and crossing her arms, “I know a great route. But, it requires a 6-hour ruck march and I’m not allowed to tell you, remember? I can help set up camp and shit, I can’t navigate for you. Colonel’s orders.”

Falsworth and Steve sighed as the went back to the map. It wasn't that Victoria didn't want to help, god, she wanted to help just so she didn’t have to sleep on snow. Unfortunately, any help she could give would be far too obvious, and thus, reported to Col. Phillips immediately. And while she had a feeling nothing would be don't, it wasn't something she wanted to risk when her entire goal was to get them to finish training as quickly as possible. The two men nodded to each other before Steve turned to the group, “Alright men, we don't have much sunlight to spare, so let's move out. The more ground we cover today, the better.”

The men sounded their agreement as they all entered the forest. For the most part, the fir trees kept a lot of the snow off the forest floor, making the trek slightly smoother. The mountains, however, did not. They added at least five kilometers to the journey in efforts to avoid the most mountainous areas, and even then, most of the terrain was rocky and icy, not a very fun combination.

They traveled until it was nearly sunset before finally stopping in a small clearing to set up camp. Victoria set her rucksack down as Steve began assigning jobs. "Dernier, I want you to work on getting the fire started. Falsworth, Morita, Dugan, and Taylor work on putting up the tents. Jones and Buck, come with me to get firewood." Steve said, setting his own pack down, and the entire team sprung into motion.

"Dum Dum, Jim, you two start clearing away snow for the tents," Falsworth said. "Victoria, help me unpack the supplies."

"Aye aye." She said as they started pulling the tents out of the men's packs. In no time the materials for four pup tents were spread around the campfire Dernier was nursing. Victoria clapped her hands together looking at the piles of canvas and tent stakes. "It's going to be a bitch to drive these stakes into the frozen ground."

Falsworth handed her a hammer, "No worse than Russia, I'm sure."

She scoffed, taking the hammer. "Nothing will ever be worse than camping during the Russian winter." She shivered at the thought of it, that night had been absolute hell. "Let's get to work." She said, picking up a tent support post and ramming it into the ground, hammering it down a few times for good measure. Carefully, she let it go and backed away, cheering when it didn't fall. The second post wasn't so easy, no matter how hard she tried to force it into the ground, it refused to stay upright.

She growled at the stake, honestly wishing she could just snap it in half. Morita grabbed it before Victoria could try to ram it into the ground once more. "Need help?" He asked and she handed over the stake with a huff.

"There's a reason I took the ruck march." She said and puffed out her cheeks.

"Yeah, because you're a masochist." He laughed. "I'll get the post, you grab the cover." He said pointing to the canvas tent cloth. Victoria grabbed the cloth as Morita worked the post into the ground. With the posts finally secured, she spread the canvas over them with a flick of her wrist. They both finished securing the tent to the ground, ending with a result that, hopefully, wouldn't collapse.

"Thanks." She said, nudging him slightly with her elbow.

"No problem." He said. "Wouldnt do any good if one of our tents collapsed right?" She took a deep breath and nodded, looking over the tent again. It was rare for her to rough it in the woods, and usually, she didn't even bother with tents. "Come on, it looks like Jacques has something cooking on the fire."

Victoria sat at the now rather large fire, warming her numbing hands as Dernier boiled cans of food rations in a pot over it. An impressively large pile of firewood sat next to him, no doubt primarily thanks to a specific super-soldier. As if summoning them with a mere thought, Jones, Steve and Bucky emerged from the forest. Bucky and Jones carried two large bundles of branches in their arms, while Steve might as well have been carrying an uprooted tree.

"I don't think we're going to need this much wood boys." She teased them as they dropped the branches into the pile.

"That's what I told them," Jones said sitting down next to Dernier.

"It's going to be cold tonight, the bigger the fire the better." Steve defended as he started to cut into the log with an ax.

Bucky nodded, "you can never be too careful." He sat down next to Victoria, "I'd rather have too much wood than freeze."

"We're going to need someone up to keep it goin'," Dugan said, carefully pulling a can from the boiling water.

Falsworth sipped from a tin cup, "Everyone taking a two-hour fire watch should get us through the night. Perhaps turns going clockwise around the tents?" He traced his finger in a clockwise circle in the air.

"I can take the first watch," Morita said. "I'll wake up who ever's in my tent."

Dugan shifted slightly, brows furrowed, "So how exactly are we deciding who is in a tent with who?" he glanced briefly at Victoria. "Especially considering-"

"If you bring up the fact that I'm a woman I'm actually going to punch you, Dugan," Victoria said flatly, glaring at him.

"He has a point doll, it would be-"

"I swear to god Barnes if you say 'proper'." she threatened, almost growling. "Its hardly going to be the first time I had to sleep next to a man."

Bucky went slightly pink and Falsworth laughed, "You don't exactly have a choice when you're in the middle of Russia in the winter do you?" He said.

"Exactly." She said, "I don't give a damn who I share a tent with, but if protecting my honor or some shit really means that much to you Bucky, feel free. Just know I sleep with a pistol and a knife under my pillow and I'm a very light sleeper."

Bucky flushed three shades deeper and shifted uncomfortably as he cleared his throat, "I wasn't trying to insult your doll, I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it is all."

Victoria's lips curled upwards, it was always cute when she managed to fluster him. When all his charming bravado was stripped away he turned out to be so soft and kind. He meant well, she knew that, so did Dugan, but she had no patience for being singled out based on her gender. Seeing him so embarrassed, however, eased her annoyance slightly. "I think I've proven very well that I can defend myself." She said, "And I've also proven I'm not really one to care about what's proper or not." She stood up, yawning. "You boys can decide who's comfortable bunking with me. I, however, just got done hiking 15 kilometers, so I'm going to bed. Wake me up when it's my turn to keep the fire going." She finished before retiring to a tent.

* * *

The fire crackled loudly as Victoria threw another log onto the flames. It had already been three hours since she had woken up and sent Jones to bed, but she couldn't convince herself to go back to sleep. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to.

The crunch of snow alerted her to someone's approach, but she didn't bother to look to see who it was, instead, focusing on the flames. "You know, I've been meaning to ask," Bucky said, sitting down next to her. "How exactly does a girl like you end up in a place like this? You're too smart to actually want to be here."

Victoria laughed turning the tin cup in her hands with her fingers, "You know, I ask myself that every day." She took a sip from her cup and continued, "The answer, apparently, is by helping a friend."

"Helping a friend," he said. "One hell of a way to help a friend."

"He definitely owes me, that's for damn sure." She smiled slightly, Clint wasn't going to believe any of this when she got back if she did. "And you're one to talk. Mister 'joins an elite squad for his best friend'."

He chuckled, "Okay, you've got me there." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and matches. "Want one?" he asked, offering the pack to her.

"You know, those things cause cancer." She said, shaking her head.

Bucky looked at her like she had two heads as he put a cigarette between his lips. "Since when?" He asked as he lit it with a match.

"Since always." She said, sipping her drink. "Just wait, the science will come out, I promise."

He hummed, clearly unconvinced, as he took a drag of the cigarette. "We'll have to see then." He said, "What are you drinking?"

"Some dirt I thought it would be a good idea to boil." She deadpanned, looking into her cup. "Actually, on second thought, that's an insult to dirt."

"And you say cigs will give you cancer." He joked as she poured out the last of the coffee in the cup.

"To be fair," She said, setting the cup down, "I'm shocked I'm not dead already. What are you doing up anyway? Can't sleep?"

Bucky squinted at the fire, "I don't think I've had a solid night's sleep since Azzano." He said. "Every time I close my eyes it's like I'm back there, in that little cage, or worse, on that godforsaken torture table." He noticeably shivered at the thought. "It's stupid, I know it isn't real but..." He trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words.

"The human mind is intense." Victoria said, poking at the flames, considering adding another log.

"Yeah," He sighed, running his hand through his hair. "That's one way to put it."

"It isn't stupid though." She looked at him, he looked so tired in the glow of the flame, almost fragile even. He was almost always putting on a brave face she realized. But here, maybe due to the cold, or maybe due to exhaustion, he let the facade drop, with only Victoria there to witness it. "You've seen things, experienced things, that most people could never even dream of. War is horrific. There are probably thousands of men dealing with the same things you are. The nightmares, the memories, the fear, and the pain and the guilt. Most of them are too scared to even talk about it, not awanting to be called crazy or weak. It's not stupid at all."

Bucky looked at her, face indecipherable, "You talk about it like you have first-hand experience."

She looked into the fire, unsure of how to answer, or even if she should. She bit her lip and sighed, "I don't work on the front lines like most everyone else. I work so deep behind them that it often feels like I'm on a desolate island with only my worst enemies. I try to work with resistance groups when I can." She swallowed the lump in her throat as it came up. "Usually when I do, it involves doing things to protect Jewish civilians. Falsifying documents, securing safe ways out of the city, even dying their hair blond to make them look more Aryan. Really just about anything to keep them safe.

"That's what I was doing a few months ago in Paris when a woman and her children came into the little hidey-hole that the resistance had set up, begging for help. She wasn't Jewish, but her children were, and she was terrified she would lose them like her husband. We helped the best we could. God, you should have seen her face as she thanked us, a two-year-old in her arms and a five-year-old clinging to her dress." She took a deep breath and wiped tears from her eyes. "I found all three of them dead on the side of a street a week later. The mother still clinging to her baby, a gunshot to all of their heads."

"Jesus." Bucky swore, rubbing his jaw, "Doll I-"

"I'm not telling you this for pity." She said quickly, "I'm telling you this so that you know you aren't alone. I know what it's like to go to sleep and relive every horror you've ever seen. To constantly be alert for another horrific thing to happen. To constantly be wearing a mask just to make it another day without losing your mind. I know what it's like. You aren't alone, you aren't crazy, and you aren't weak. There's only so much trauma the mind can handle at once, and God knows that was only the most recent of the traumas I've seen, and I'm sure it won't be the last.

"It's not stupid Bucky." She looked over at him, a look of surprise on his face as he held his chin in his hand. "It's the least stupid thing in the world. I promise."

They stared at each other in silence for a few beats before Victoria felt her face grow hot and she turned back towards the fire, throwing another log onto the flames. Suddenly, she felt extremely silly sharing so much. She tried to ignore the sick feeling in her stomach as the silence dragged on.

"That's the second time you've left me speechless." He said, quietly enough that the popped of the fire almost drowned him out. "Steve was right, you really are something."

The breath caught in her throat as she froze, heart racing. Now it was her turn to be speechless. How on earth two sentences could feel so damn important, she had no idea. Bucky was kind, and good, and strong, but she shouldn't be getting this flustered over what he thought of her. "No," She shook her head as if the action itself were pushing something down deep inside of her. "I'm just me. That's it."

He nodded, "That's exactly my point." She poked at the fire, thanking every deity above that she could blame her red cheeks on the cold. "Not many people would say something like that. It, uh," He rubbed the back of his neck, "It means a lot doll, it really does."

A few more beats of silence passed as Victoria tried to make sense of the situation. "You know," She said, heart pounding as she tried to find a way to change the subject. "I wasn't kidding when I said we could get to the other base in six hours." James Buchannan Barnes was going to be the death of her, and it wasnt going to be the charm that did her in at this point. There were so many reasons not to fall in love with him, but god if her heart didn't want to listen.

He shook his head, accepting the change in subject. "I've been looking at that map all day, there's no way in hell."

"That map doesn't have the road on it."

"The what?"

"The road. There's a road about half an hour's walk from the starting point. They leave it off the maps they hand out so that people don't use the road. Takes you right to the next base camp." She explained, pointing northward. "'Course, normally this is supposed to be a race, so the ruck march makes more sense."

Bucky looked impressed, "How did you find it?"

"The map looked off, different from what I was used to. So I went to investigate." She threw two more logs onto the fire and the flames quickly burst to life. "Ended up finding a road and made it to my destination before sundown. Couldn't walk for two days straight after that, but I got to stay in the training program."

"They were going to kick you out if you didn't walk 30 kilometers in a day?"

She shook her head, "No, like I said, it was a race. The second half of recruits to arrive were dropped from the program and used elsewhere."

"So you walked 30 kilometers in a day," he said it more than asked.

"Yep."

"Doll, you don't get to question if I'm the responsible one if you do things like that." he teased, a genuine smile on his face for the first time all night.

Victoria's jaw dropped in mock offense, "You blew up three pounds of TNT because Steve suggested it!"

"That punk would have done it anyway! you know how many fights I got in because he started them? And he wasn't all muscley back then either." She laughed as the thought and Bucky's smile widened. "I'm serious! He's a menace! Absolutely no sense of self-preservation."

"I believe it." She said, "I just don't believe you have any either."

"Coming from the dame that walked 30 kilometers in six hours instead of camping on the side of the road." He argued, crossing his arms.

"I didn't want to lose!" She said a little louder than she meant to. A distinct snort from Dugan's tent pulled their attention away from the conversation.

Bucky put a finger over his lips and shushed, "We don't want to wake everyone up."

Victoria snorted, "Like you weren't being just as loud as me."

Bucky bit his lip to keep from laughing, "I'm not the one that almost woke Dum Dum up." he said before getting a handful of snow shoved into his face. He stared at Victoria in disbelief as she gave him a smug look. "Really?"

Before she could think to get away, Bucky wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer, and piled two large handfuls of snow onto her head. Victoria gasped at the cold sensations as she tried to wiggle out of his grasp. She stopped when she looked up at him, finally realizing how close they were.

Bucky laughed, not seeming to notice the closeness himself. Her heart hammered in her chest, the scent of the pinewood he helped chop still clung to him, mixing with his own scent, she had never been so close to him before. Bucky seemed to notice her stillness and looked down at her, finally realizing the position they were in.

Victoria had no idea how long they stayed like that, staring at each other in silence before she finally spoke up. "I should probably turn in."

Bucky blinked once or twice before releasing her as if she were on fire. "Yeah. Yeah," he nodded as she stood up. "Don't worry about sending the next person out. I will when I go back to my tent."

She nodded back, "Goodnight." She said and retreated to her tent before he could respond. She couldnt fall in love with a man she knew was likely to die. She couldnt. She buried herself in her sleeping bag with a huff, thinking about how much colder she was out of his arms.

"You two are quite cute together," Falsworth said, not bothering to open his eyes.

"Shut up."


	6. Chapter 5

Christmas at the base was an interesting affair. An outsider may have called it pathetic or pitiful, but it was an important morale boost to the men and women involved. All training for the day had been canceled, and all personnel on the base gathered at the mess hall to celebrate. Music played from a radio as men and women laughed, danced, and drank.

Victoria smiled and sipped her drink as she watched Dugan and Jones attempt to ‘convince’ Steve to wear a Santa’s hat and beard. Or rather, the two of them were trying to slip it onto his head every time he had his back turned. There was a ten-dollar reward for anyone that could manage it. “Maybe you should try tackling him!” She yelled to the pair as the failed once again.

“Don’t give them ideas Doll.” Bucky laughed next to Steve, “They might hurt themselves.”

She shrugged. “Wouldn’t be my fault if they decide to do it.” Neither she nor Bucky had talked about that night by the fire a few days ago, and as far as Victoria was concerned, she was okay with that. She didn’t want to think about the slight flutter in her chest that she got whenever she so much as glanced at him, and she sure as hell didn't want to think about the way her stomach swooped when she got near him. She had a mission to accomplish! A goal to meet! A home to get back to. She couldn’t risk her future over some pretty eyes and a nice smile.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Falsworth asked, sitting down next to her.

Victoria hummed, considering his question for a moment, “We’re halfway there. In a month's time, you boys will have all the training we can give you and you’ll be off storming hydra bases and killing Nazis.” She took another sip of her drink, the alcohol burned her throat as it went down. That was probably only half of the things on her mind. “I just really hope it will be enough.”

Falsworth looked at her, “Are you worried it won’t be?”

“Aren’t you?” She asked, “We’re treading dangerous waters here. Any one of you could end up dead.” She watched Bucky from across the room, his face slightly flushed from drinking, donning the hat and beard the men had been trying to get on Steve.

“Why do I get the distinct impression you worry for some of us more than others?” Falsworth asked with a knowing smile, glancing briefly at Bucky. At that moment, Bucky turned his head and caught sight of her, smiling widely as their eyes met. Victoria’s face went warm before she broke eye contact to look at Falsworth.

“It’s the wrong impression.” She said coolly.

“Ah, yes.” Falsworth chuckled, “However could I have gotten it?”

Victoria glowered at him, “Flirting doesn’t have to mean anything.”

He nodded in agreement, “Quite true.” He said, “But, generally speaking, Flirting with only one person tends to mean quite a bit.”

She inhaled sharply as she searched for an excuse, “There’s hardly any women around to flirt with.”

“Plenty of women around today, and yet the only one he seems to be interested in even looking at is you.” Her heart pulsed at Falsworth’s observation. He was right though, for all of Bucky’s talk about being a ladies’ man, she only had his and Steve’s stories as any kind of proof. She shook her head as if to try to banish the thought from her head.

“We’re in the middle of a war.” She argued, “This is hardly the time for romance.”

Falsworth tilted his head, looking back at Bucky, “Personally, I can think of no time better. The world needs a little romance in times like these.” He said as the honk of a truck horn distracted the pair from their discussion.

“Christmas mail call.” An officer yelled into the mess hall. “Get your asses out here if you want your gifts.” Almost all at once, the men swarmed the exit, excited to get anything from home. Even Falsworth joined the mob, leaving Victoria to sip her drink alone.

Victoria stood up and wandered to where Steve and Bucky had been sitting. She picked up a stray Christmas cracker and turned it over in her hand. She had grown used to not expecting gifts for Christmas, but she couldn’t deny feeling a little jealous at times like these. All the more reason to try to get home as soon as possible.

“You aren’t goin’ to see if you got anything Doll?” Bucky asked from behind her, making her visibly jump. He laughed. “Sorry, didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”

She chuckled softly, “No, I don't have anything coming for Christmas.”

Bucky frowned, visibly confused. “What’d ya mean, you’ve got to be getting something. Your family hasn't sent you anything all month.” Her breath caught in her throat as she searched for words to say. “What? You didn’t think I would notice the fact that your name hasn't been called at mail call once?”

“I don’t get mail, Buck.” She said, but it only seemed to confuse him more.

“What, so your family’s just actin’ like ya don't exist or something?” he continued to interrogate, his Brooklyn accent growing thicker.

Victoria sighed, he was clearly too drunk to consider subtly. “I don’t have any family.”

Realization and regret washed over Bucky’s face. He swore under his breath, “You’ve gotta have someone. Even Steve gets letters from my sister. What about the guy you got into this mess helping?”

Her heart twinged painfully at the thought of Clint. “He couldn’t send me letters if he tried. I don’t have anyone alive to get letters from.”

Bucky looked at her pitifully, swearing twice more. “Doll, I,” He shook his head, looking for words. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

Victoria held a hand up to try to stop his apologies. “It’s fine, you couldn’t have known. And I’m used to it now either way.” She pointed to the package in his hands. “What did you get?”

He looked down at the half-opened guilt, slightly embarrassed. “Just a fruit cake Rebecca made.” He said sitting down at the table, “Steve got one too.”

Victoria snorted, “She must really hate you two then.”

“Hey!” He protested before breaking into a fit of laughter. “It might be payback for all the dolls I antagonized when we were kids.”

“Sounds like you deserver it then.” She smiled, sitting next to him, ignoring her racing heart. “Here.” She said, holding out one end of the cracker to him. “Pull.” he obliged and the cracker went off with a snap. A small wooden soldier in a painted blue coat fell out onto Victoria’s lap. She giggled as she picked it up and inspected it. “Merry Christmas.” She said, handing the tiny soldier to Bucky.

He raised an eyebrow but took the small toy with a small smile. “It’s better than a fruitcake.” He said, turning it in his hand. “I'll give you that.”

“I couldn’t let your Christmas be that pitiful.” She teased.

He looked at her for a moment, face soft and kind. At that moment he wasn’t the Bucky that always put on a brave face. He was something more and less. He was Bucky, just Bucky, and Victoria couldn’t help but wonder if she was the only one with the privilege to see him like this. “Thank you Doll.” his hand brushed her arm lightly enough to send a shiver down her spine.

Victoria pulled away almost reflexively. “Where did that Santa hat go anyway?”

“I got Steve to wear it by promising to split the ten bucks,” he said, leaning against the table, one hand still fidgeting with the toy.

Sure enough, Steve came back into the mess hall wearing the beard and hat, holding a package not unlike Bucky’s, laughing with the other commandoes. Victoria chuckled at the sight. Of course, it was Bucky that would manage to win the bet. Those two really would do anything for each other.

White Christmas began playing on the radio and Bucky grabbed Victoria’s hand as he stood up. “Let’s dance.”

“What?” She asked, eyes wide as he pulled on her hand. She shook her head, “no, no no no. I can’t dance, I don't know how.” 

He rolled his eyes, “Then I’ll teach ya. Come on, just one dance.”

“There’s a dozen other girls here that are a better choice than me to dance with.”

“Not from where I’m lookin’,” He said, “Only dame I see ‘round here that I wanna dance with is you.”

Victoria stared at him at a loss for words, standing up as a voice called into the mess hall. “Agent Taylor, there's an urgent call for you from Col. Phillips.”

Bucky threw his head back in frustration, “You gotta be kiddin’ me. It’s Christmas!”

“Is Agent Taylor here?” The man asked, paying no mind to Bucky’s protest.

Victoria sighed, “Yes, I’m here, I’ll be with you in a moment.” She said. “What can I say? I haven’t had a day off in almost three years now.” She smiled at Bucky apologetically, “Looks like you’ll need to take a rain check on that dance.”

“I’ll hold you to that Doll,” He said.

She laughed, stepping away from him, “Whatever you say, Sarge.” She said before following the soldier out.

She was handed the phone Immediately as she entered the main office, “Hello-”

“Taylor I want you on the first train to London yesterday.” Phillips interrupted, Victoria frowned at the order. “A Russian ambassador is going to be here tomorrow and I trust that man about as far as I can throw him.”

Annoyance twinged at the back of Victoria’s head. “Are you seriously pulling me back to babysit a fucking diplomat? The communists aren't our issue right now.” They could have the red scare after Victoria got back home for all she cared.

“Agent, are you questioning a direct order?”

“Yes!” she snapped, “Not questioning orders is how genocide happens. Why don’t you get Agent Carter to do this?”

“She’s currently Stateside.” He said, “And we have reason to believe that this man may have some connection to hydra.”

Victoria pinched the bridge of her nose, hydra was found to be operating in small groups all across the USSR after the war, but the groups were so small they were barely even of historical note. “He’s Russian, why would a Russian be working for Hydra?”

“That’s your job to find out Taylor. Get your ass on the next train.” Phillips finished, hanging up. Victoria rubbed her face and groaned, a migraine threatening behind her eyes. Her thoughts wandered back to Bucky, it looked like he wasn’t getting that dance any time soon. She tried to convince herself it was for the best, but in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but feel disappointment. She took a deep breath and pushed the feeling as far back as it would go. She didn’t have time to be distracted by a silly crush. She had a train to catch.


End file.
